The Alpaca Shearing Process

Alpacas should be shorn annually – usually done during spring or right before summer, to allow enough time for fleece to grow back before winter. In South Africa, shearing season greatly depends on regional climate and varies between October and December.

Breeders with a small number of alpacas benefit from liaising with other local alpaca owners to organise simultaneous shearing. Please consult the Services Directory for contact numbers of shearers or our Members’ List for other alpaca owners.

Alpaca fibre grows 5 -15 centimetres (or longer!), which adds up to 5 kg to their bodies. This becomes incredibly hot and heavy during summer, which can lead to heat stress and even death. Annual shearing is thus very important.

The shearing process takes about 15 – 30 minutes per alpaca. It’s best to restrain the alpacas during shearing, as the manual or electric shearers (same for sheep) are safe, but could nick them if the alpacas move around while being shorn.

Ideally, they are led on a halter to a quiet space and laid down on their side (unlike sheep, who sit or are held on their backs) on a shearing mat. Their legs are bound and a handler / assistant holds their head and calms them during the process.

An experienced shearer will follow a very specific pattern to keep the fibre classes separated – shearing the alpaca on its side, first one half and then turning the alpaca over for the other side.

The coarser belly and leg fibres are third-class. The slightly longer neck fibre is second-class

The longest blanket fibre is the first-class (or prime) fleece. The blanket fibre rolls off the alpaca as it’s cut and can be pulled off in one or two pieces, depending on the shearing style.

Often toenails and teeth are trimmed at this time, if necessary, and annual shots are given.

Planning:

• Keep alpacas protected from vegetation and environmental contamination before shearing.
• Plan the shearing area layout and flow to maximise efficiency and reduce stress for the alpacas.
• Decide whether you are skirting and classing as you go, or will be bagging and storing the fleeces for sorting later.
• Ensure all the necessary equipment is available and ready to use, like marker pens, poly bags, bins, bale bags, fibre sample bags, pre-printed labels, etc.
• Make sure you have plenty of paper towels to mop up spit or urine, plus a spray for wounds and fly spray.
• Shear alpacas in colour order, white through to black, young through to old. This will help avoid cross-contamination and reduce the clear-up between alpacas.
• Shorn alpacas lost their thermal blanket, so may require housing in bad weather.